BOLLYWOOD’S BEING A SPORT
With films based on boxing, kabaddi, cricket, and a slew of sports biopics, has Bollywood found a new box office success recipe?
When Dev Anand directed Awwal Number (1990), which revolved around cricket, it came as a breath of fresh air. Hindi film audiences didn’t have a tryst with reel sports till then. Fast forward to 2018, and you see that Bollywood has taken a big fancy to sports as well as India’s sporting stars.
But there’s a method to the madness: after all, Akshay Kumar’s Gold is minting money at the box office (has made ₹100 crore) after the big success of other sports-based films such as Dangal, Sultan, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Mukkabaaz and Mary Kom.
“Traditionally, Hindi filmmakers have always loved genres such as romance, action and comedy. Sports was never a favourite genre. But the kind of commercial success as well as critical acclaim that Dangal and Sultan got made everyone take notice of sports films,” says Sultan director Ali Abbas Zafar. Zafar has a point as a slew of sports-related movies are in the offing. While Shahid Kapoor is set to do a boxing film with director Raja Krishna Menon, Kangana Ranaut has signed Panga with with Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, that revolves around kabaddi. Also, Ranveer Singh will star in Kabir Khan’s next, based on Indian cricket team’s victory at the 1983 cricket World Cup
“India has many sports heroes, who have really inspirational stories. I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t play up their heroics on the big screen. It can only serve as an inspiration to youngsters, and that way, such films serve a much larger purpose than just providing entertainment,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.
At the same time, also in the pipeline are biopics on sports stars such as Saina Nehwal (starring Shraddha Kapoor), PV Sindhu, Pullela Gopichand, Indian women cricketers such as Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj, Dhyan Chand, PT Usha, Abhinav Bindra, Sania Mirza; and Paralympic champions Deepa Malik and Murlikant Petkar.
“Sports have been the background in most of our films. But there has to be human emotions. As long as we engage and entertain our audiences, sports or any other genre is welcome. But the idea shouldn’t be to overdo it or people may lose interest,” warns exhibitor-distributor Akshaye Rathi.
Zafar feels that since India has “always been a sportscrazy nation”, people identify with such stories. “Of late, Indian sportsmen have been performing exceptionally well at the international level. Also, most sports-based films are uplifting. So, they make for great human tales,” he says.